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Jermaine Jenas has highlighted Tottenham’s mid-December defeat to Liverpool as the moment that derailed the season for Jose Mourinho’s side. A 1-0 defeat to Chelsea on Thursday saw Spurs’ poor run of form extend to three consecutive defeats in the Premier League, resulting in another hammer blow to their top-four ambitions. The concerning results stem back further than that though, with Spurs winning just one of their last ten matches in the league. That sequence of results started with a 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace but it was the following match against Liverpool that Jenas believes was the start of the downfall.
Jermaine Jenas said: “They had a way of playing. By all accounts, a lot of people didn’t enjoy watching it, but it was very defensive, players behind the ball and catching teams out on the counter-attack. That Liverpool game, that’s why it was so big because when those chances were missed, it has flipped the season on it’s head. These players have completely lost their confidence from that moment. Then they went to Wolves, the game when they went ahead, dropped off then conceded late, Leicester at home, many of those types of moments where all of a sudden, Mourinho is realising this defence is nowhere near good enough, instead of saying ‘go free, go and play’, they get everyone back and try to catch teams out with the likes of Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son. It wasn’t going to win the league but they had something. How they lost it is what Mourinho has got to figure out.”
Tottenham are now preparing for a clash against relegation-threatened West Brom this weekend, which is followed by an FA Cup clash against Everton and a tough league test against Manchester City.
